Insanity Clinic For The Moderately Brandofandonitis Afflicted

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

1 hour ago, InfiniteInsanity said:

Ruins of Tal'rin

Insa panicked a bit in her head. She had a lot of questions about why Bookwyrm was sending them to the ocean. "To the ocean. I don't think there are any boats waiting. I'm not sure of the reasons for going to the ocean. But I trust Bookwyrm a lot. He told me to take y'all to the ocean and so that's where I'm going to take you." Hopefully that sounded calm and sure. Insa turned to Matra. "Do you know where Silhouette is?"

@Ookla the Debonair @Ookla the Shadowed

 

Ruins of Tal'rin

Silhouette waved. "Hey!"

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

You might want to sit down somewhere. My memory has been fragmented since I was bonded with the Nethergrim.

I think I knew you before I knew Calano, I have a memory I'd like to share with you.

The memory of the cave plays through again, but this time Emma sends it to Layra as well.

@Ookla the Crow

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Layra doesn't respond. Not for a while.

I... I remember now. I remember that day. In the cave. Next thing I knew, I woke up in my mother's mind.

Layra's presence seems to recede a bit, and Calano simply stares.

@Ookla the Myopic

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

I want to thank you for your sacrifice. We didn't know what would happen. I'm sorry.

@Ookla the Crow

[InfiniteInsanity she/her]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Debonair said:

Ruins of Tal'rin

Silhouette waved. "Hey!"

Insa walked over to Silhouette. "Bookwyrm wants us to take the villagers over to the ocean. But I don't know how to get them to listen to me. Matra has a small group that seems to be following her around. Can you help me figure out what the scud I'm doing?"

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Layra paused.

Did it work? Are you... better?

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Partially, though that night, what I reanimated scouraged our home world for years. And it's coming again, this time it's The Kaos that is trying to free itself.

@Ookla the Crow

Edited December 5, 2022 by Ookla the Myopic

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Kaos?? Ohh, that's not good. What have you done to fix it so far?

@Ookla the Myopic

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

The servant of The Kaos, kaos possessed me and I almost killed Calano.

So we've been trying to figure out why and how that could happen, as kaos shouldn't have been able to do that.

@Ookla the Crow

[The Bookwyrm he/him]

Ruins of Tal'rin: Central Cellar

Bookwyrm continued into the now empty cellar. 

It wasn't very large, though it was dark. He eventually reached the back wall. His Nightfire illuminated a circle of strange symbols. Some, Bookwyrm recognized as affiliated with the Worldseers. But most of the others were unfamiliar to him. 

The ones he could read said something about an archive.

Looks like I found what I was looking for...

The center of the runes seemed strange. There was a circular groove in the stone, and a rune roughly the size of his hand.

Tentatively, he reached out and touched the stone.

The runes flashed with a white light, and the circular stone spun around to reveal a strange wedge-shaped white stone. Bookwyrm took it.

Hm...

He placed it in his pouch, then ascended the stairs back into the open sunlight.

@InfiniteInsanity @Ookla the Debonair @Ookla the Shadowed

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Was Kaos somehow Connected to you? That could have been a conduit for it's possesion of you.

@Ookla the Myopic

Edited December 5, 2022 by Ookla the Crow

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

...It must have been the Nethergrim. 

That's the only thing that I can thin- there was a time when I didn't care if I lived or died anymore.

Wizard was dead and so was Calano. I was just ready to die.

@Ookla the Crow

Edited December 6, 2022 by Ookla the Myopic

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Hmm. Perhaps your weakness, physically, mentally, and emotionally, created an opening wide enough for the Nethergrim to slip through, which widened it more for Kaos to dive in.

How did you manage to force out Kaos, as I assume you did, because you're here speaking to me.

@Ookla the Myopic

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

A therapy cat came and absorbed some of the Kaos, I cut the connection, but I was able to not kill Calano. Instead only slicing his cheek.

I was unconcious at the time, but Wizard came and blasted me with light, weakening the Kaos while strengthening my connection to the light.

Calano was stubborn and refused to stop holding me, so he was blasted as well.

@Ookla the Crow

[InfiniteInsanity she/her]

18 hours ago, Ookla the Perpetual said:

He placed it in his pouch, then ascended the stairs back into the open sunlight.

Ruins of Tal'rin

Insa turned in circle looking for the break in the mountains. She spotted Bookwyrm as she looked around and walked over to him. "That was fast." She smiled sweetly at him. "Now if you still want to you are going to lead them to the ocean. Not me."

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Calano grinned. Damn right I'm stubborn, he said mentally to Layra and Emma.

Sounds like him, Layra said, So, is your Connection gone then? What's the big issue now?

@Ookla the Myopic

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

The connection isn't gone, just weakened for a time, but it grows stronger with each passing breath. I can feel it want to consume the light.

Only my will and the connection to the light hold it back. Eventually the connection will fade and the darkness will reassert itself.

@Ookla the Crow

[Medium he/they]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Layra's presence receded slightly, deep in thought.

What if.. what if we had you bond with that Therapy Cat from before. Does the cat have something to store the energy, or perhaps a way to transport it somewhere to be repurposed? Perhaps we can use that method as a.. siphon for the darkness.

Calano looked at Emma. "That could work," He says, taking her hand and squeezing it, "And I'm willing to try anything. But it's your issue, so it's up to you."

@Ookla the Myopic

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

On 12/5/2022 at 2:55 PM, InfiniteInsanity said:

Insa walked over to Silhouette. "Bookwyrm wants us to take the villagers over to the ocean. But I don't know how to get them to listen to me. Matra has a small group that seems to be following her around. Can you help me figure out what the scud I'm doing?"

Silhouette looked panicked. "Give me one minute. I still don't even know what I'm doing."

On 12/5/2022 at 4:39 PM, Ookla the Perpetual said:

Ruins of Tal'rin: Central Cellar

Bookwyrm continued into the now empty cellar. 

It wasn't very large, though it was dark. He eventually reached the back wall. His Nightfire illuminated a circle of strange symbols. Some, Bookwyrm recognized as affiliated with the Worldseers. But most of the others were unfamiliar to him. 

The ones he could read said something about an archive.

Looks like I found what I was looking for...

The center of the runes seemed strange. There was a circular groove in the stone, and a rune roughly the size of his hand.

Tentatively, he reached out and touched the stone.

The runes flashed with a white light, and the circular stone spun around to reveal a strange wedge-shaped white stone. Bookwyrm took it.

Hm...

He placed it in his pouch, then ascended the stairs back into the open sunlight.

@InfiniteInsanity @Ookla the Debonair @Ookla the Shadowed

"What's that stone you've got there?" Silhouette asked.

7 hours ago, InfiniteInsanity said:

Ruins of Tal'rin

Insa turned in circle looking for the break in the mountains. She spotted Bookwyrm as she looked around and walked over to him. "That was fast." She smiled sweetly at him. "Now if you still want to you are going to lead them to the ocean. Not me."

"We're going to the ocean?"

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

I can try.

"I can always try."

Emma reaches over a hand to scratch Telrao, "Telrao is their a way to siphon off more of the darkness and store it somewhere?"

@Ookla the Floofy @Ookla the Crow

[Telrao she/her]

4 hours ago, Ookla the Myopic said:

The Islands: The Secret Room

I can try.

"I can always try."

Emma reaches over a hand to scratch Telrao, "Telrao is their a way to siphon off more of the darkness and store it somewhere?"

Telrao's ears perked up. I know what these words mean... she pushed through her brain fog and finally grasped their meaning. She nodded, but that was all she could do to respond. Her broken Oaths had taken the words away... locked them up somewhere.

Meanwhile, the Second studied Emma, contemplating. Eventually, he whispered to the Fourth, and she nodded, stepping out of existence for a few moments, then returning with something held in her teeth.

"Child," the Second said, taking the thing from the Fourth and dismissing her with a respectful nod. He turned to Emma again. "The Seventh cannot speak. Her mind is fading - before long, she will become a normal cat. Albeit with Elantrian abilities. But I may have a temporary solution to your problem, Furless One." He handed the thing to Emma. It was a pendant on a long string of intricate silver chain, the pendant itself made of strange stone that shivered slightly when it came in contact with Emma's hand. It was carved with the same symbol scattered around the Islands. The symbol seemed... softer on the pendant.

"This pendant," the Second said gently, "is a protective measure. It will not absorb all of the darkness, but will be able to siphon a little off at a time. The Seventh had the ability... has the ability of Absorption - she is able to take some of that power, but eventually reaches a limit where she has to convert it to something else." He turned away, brown tail flicking, sapphire eyes touched by tears. "I am afraid that is all that I can do for you now, Child. I cannot interfere too much with the Great Chain." He added softly under his breath, "Heaven knows I've interfered too much with these worlds..."

@Ookla the Myopic @Ookla the Crow

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

7 minutes ago, Ookla the Floofy said:

"Child," the Second said, taking the thing from the Fourth and dismissing her with a respectful nod. He turned to Emma again. "The Seventh cannot speak. Her mind is fading - before long, she will become a normal cat. Albeit with Elantrian abilities. But I may have a temporary solution to your problem, Furless One." He handed the thing to Emma. It was a pendant on a long string of intricate silver chain, the pendant itself made of strange stone that shivered slightly when it came in contact with Emma's hand. It was carved with the same symbol scattered around the Islands. The symbol seemed... softer on the pendant.

"This pendant," the Second said gently, "is a protective measure. It will not absorb all of the darkness, but will be able to siphon a little off at a time. The Seventh had the ability... has the ability of Absorption - she is able to take some of that power, but eventually reaches a limit where she has to convert it to something else." He turned away, brown tail flicking, sapphire eyes touched by tears. "I am afraid that is all that I can do for you now, Child. I cannot interfere too much with the Great Chain." He added softly under his breath, "Heaven knows I've interfered too much with these worlds..."

"I think I can help Telrao, that is if she wants to come with us and is willing."

Emma stretches out her hand to Telrao.

"Do you want to come with us Telrao?"

@Ookla the Floofy 

[Telrao she/her]

Just now, Ookla the Myopic said:

"I think I can help Telrao, that is if she wants to come with us and is willing."

Emma stretches out her hand to Telrao.

"Do you want to come with us Telrao?"

The Islands: The Secret Room

Come... come with us? I wish... I could understand.... her mind was getting foggier. She could feel the blanket of blankness settling over her mind. Desperately, she clawed back her sanity and the words finally clicked.

She nodded her head and purred, rubbing against Emma's hand. I would love to join you... I don't want to fade away...

@Ookla the Myopic

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Feeling the intent in Telrao, Emma scoops her up in her arms.

"Welcome to our family Telrao."

Hugging Telrao over her heart, she forms a bond with the cat. Lending her mastery of language and speach in exchange for Telrao taking on some of the darkness.

Emma sets Telrao down on her shoulders and grins at her."You're now the fourth being to help with this, thank you Telrao!"

@Ookla the Floofy @Ookla the Crow

[Telrao she/her]

The Islands: The Secret Room

Telrao gasped as consciousness returned to her in a burning, yet comfortable sensation. She raised her head and blinked slowly, then buried her furry head in Emma's hair, breathing in her scent.

"Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you..."

The Second watched carefully. "That is a powerful bond, Furless One. But there is one problem. The Seventh can no longer be part of our order, as she is now bound to you, and not our Oaths." He looked mournful. "She no longer has the immortal connections she once had. Age will touch her in time."

"Second." Telrao said, jumping down from Emma's shoulders and bowing respectfully to the powerful cat. "I accept the ramifications of my decision. I swear that, should this Bond end, I shall end also. I swear that I shall never divulge the secrets I have learned, or the knowledge that keeps this Place safe." She closed her eyes and groaned softly, the pain of leaving stabbing her heart. "And I swear..." she swallowed her tears. "I swear to never return to the Islands, nor to allow any others passage to it."

"These words are accepted, Seventh. You shall be remembered, your name written in the sacred books. Once your soul has left your body, only then may you return to here." He bowed his head and licked Telrao's forehead. "You have my blessing, Child of the First. Be at peace." His words rippled the air, and Emma, Calano, and Telrao popped back into Calano's study, an invisible wind caressing their faces. Do what you can to save the Worlds, Children. Be at Peace.

@Ookla the Myopic @Ookla the Crow